There is a consumer demand for waterproof footwear and in particular for waterproof boots designed for wear in winter snow conditions and/or for hiking over wet ground. However, the more comfortable materials used for making footwear are generally natural materials, for example leather which is pliable and readily molds to the shape and configuration of the wearer's foot, ankle and leg area within the boot. This advantage though is for some purposes outweighed by the disadvantage of one characteristic of leather, namely the fact that it is not waterproof. Furthermore, silicon treatments and the like are in practice not effective to thoroughly waterproof a leather boot as water tends to eventually penetrate the seam lines etc. notwithstanding any such treatment. Consequently there is a need for an effective and convenient method of waterproofing outdoor footwear.
Of course, there are available on the market rubber boots which are waterproof i.e. those which are formed of rubber from a single molding without any seam or attachment lines of any sort. However, full length rubber boots are not very comfortable for walking as the rubber tends to resist bending around the ankle area during the walking motion and is not suitable for close fitting lace-up boot designs etc.. Thus, boots have been developed having a lower rubber portion (or other waterproof material) and an upper portion attached thereto at about the ankle area of the boot, the upper portion commonly being comprised of leather and/or other non-waterproof material. Usually the two portions are stitched together along the line where the two portions meet (i.e. at the attachment or seam line). For some purposes this type of boot is sufficiently waterproof. However, since water may still penetrate the stitch holes at the attachment line and other seams, this form of boot is only waterproof when used in surface snow or water conditions in which the snow or water does not reach a level slightly below the attachment line. Thus there is a need for a method of waterproofing a boot at the attachment line at which a non-waterproof upper portion is attached to a waterproof bottom portion and other seams and joins of the boot.